Strategies of the European

ERCIM News is the magazine of ERCIM. Published quarterly, it reports on joint actions of the ERCIM partners, and aims to reflect the contribution made by ERCIM to the European Community in Information Technology and Applied Mathematics. Through short articles and news items, it provides a forum for the exchange of information between the institutes and also with the wider scientific community. This issue has a circulation of about 8,500 copies.. The scientific and professional societies in ICST in Europe have a key responsibility in helping to understand and to shape the digital future. They should collectively identify the vision, needs and priorities, and offer their expertise to the entire discipline and to society as a whole. INRIA Sophia Antipolis. The panel addressed how European public research organisations working in Information and Communication Sciences and Technologies (ICST) can contribute to the success of Horizon 2020 (H2020), and in particular to the strategic direction of the " Excellence in Science " agenda. The initial presentation addressed the new challenges introduced by H2020. After an overview of the objectives and structure of H2020, focusing on the three pillars of the H2020 strategy (Excellent Science, Industrial Leadership and Societal Challenges), DG " Connect " (the new Directorate General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology created by the EC in July 2012 in order to manage the Digital Agenda for Europe) was presented. The main question raised in the panel was: How can European public ICST research organisations contribute to shaping the H2020 work programmes? In the past, each organisation interacted independently with the EC; however, the lack of a single voice has seriously impacted on their ability to be heard by EC decision makers. The development of common viewpoints and strategies for ICST in Europe and, whenever appropriate or needed, a common representation of these viewpoints and strategies at the international level are the foundational principles of the European Forum for Information and Communication Sciences and Technologies. The Forum is intended to be an open platform for cooperation among the scientific ICT societies in Europe. As reported in an EFICST white paper (Shaping the Digital Future of Europe) under preparation, the advances in information and communication science and technology continue to dramatically impact on our economies and our society. Computational thinking and virtualization are revolutionizing both science and technology. Driven by the need for automation and the exciting opportunities that are emerging, the …